Monday, December 12, 2011

Here are my top five. Obviously, these are my based on my own opinion. And I have not tried all of the pizza places in Forest Hills, so feel free to add your own (and I will try them soon if you do. I promise. Like it's very hard work).

1. Tuscan Hills
2. Nick's*
3. Portofino
4. Lillian
5. A J's

*I have to note one thing, though. If I was going by pepperoni pizza, I would have to put Nick's first. They have amazing pepperoni pizza, right up there with the best I have ever eaten, anywhere. But, I have not tried the pepperoni at the others on the list, so can't speak for those.

Oh, and I am eagerly awaiting the opening of Gloria's Pizza next to Midway. Such a loyal following! Can't wait to try it.

One other thing I just realized. Tuscan Hills is kind of new, having opened just a few years ago, and many of you may not yet know about it. While all of their food is simply phenomenal, I swear to you I am not exaggerating when I say I almost cry when I bite into their pizza. It is simply one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten, anywhere. I don't know how they do it. You know those books of lists of things to do before you die? If you know you are going to die (come to think of it, I do, just don't know when), you really must have a pie from Tuscan Hills before you do. Does that make sense?

Chalk the strange headline up to my writing this post at like 2:30 in the morning. I have Monday off, so I can. Anyway, the real point of this post is to tell you I visited the Bareburger in the Village over the weekend. I will post a full review soon of this new burger joint that is coming to Austin, but for now I just wanted to tantalize y'all with the flavored pickle appetizer Bareburger has. I am still thinking of them, days later...

Haven't done this in a long time, mostly because the movies have been rather sucky. But, suddenly, I've seen some good ones...

Moneyball: I give this one an A+. Totally enjoyed this baseball film. I caught it in the Village at the Quad Theater, where it was still playing as of a week ago. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are both really great. Philip Seymour Hoffman is fantastic as usual, in a supporting role this time. It's a really interesting look at baseball today.

Margin Call: This one gets an A from me. It's a bit of an odd movie, kind of a half-fiction, half-real look at the financial meltdown. But Kevin Spacey is great, as is Jeremy Irons as the corporate CEO. Heck, I even liked Demi Moore in this one! It moves fast and is very enjoyable. Even if you're not into business/finance movies, this one is very entertaining.

My Week With Marilyn: I'd give this is a B+. Michelle Williams really steals this movie as the title character. And Kenneth Branagh does a spot-on impression of Sir Lawrence Olivier. I caught this in Kew Gardens, followed, of course, by dinner at Mood, my local favorite restaurant there.

J. Edgar: This one gets a B- from me. Not bad, but could have been sooo much better. Clint Eastwood, who directed, chose to try to stuff way too much of this amazing person's life into two hours. This easily should've been a mini-series or HBO series of several episodes to do it justice. And Leonardo DiCaprio, while much better than I've ever seen him, still has his "Tom Cruise" moments -- you know, the one's where try as he might he is just not that great an actor. Sorry Leo!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Hooray!! This may just be some of the most awesome news I have had a chance to report in the two years I have been doing this blog: Bareburger Rising

Heres' the link to Bareburger's site: http://www.bareburger.com/
I have never been to Bareburger, and don't know anyone who has. But that's not the point. The fact that this new burger place has chosen Austin St. as one of its locations, along with Astoria, Park Slope, Chelsea and the NYU neighborhood in the Village, says tons about our neighborhood and how it is changing. :)

Sunday, December 4, 2011

I was recently contacted by the person below who is interested in organizing a blood drive here in the Forest Hillls/Rego Park area. Please read on for details. They are looking for volunteers.

Potential organization of a blood campaign drive in Forest Hills/Rego Park area in or around end of January 2012. We are looking forward to creating an awareness amongst the community and stress the importance of having a healthy community. It would be great if we could get sponsors for the campaign in terms of location, set up etc. and also any one interested in volunteering, please contact us. I can be reached at harengosar@hotmail.com. We are keen on making the event a great success and working towards a better, healthy community.

A group of civic leaders in Queens is proposing once again to turn an old rail line that runs through Forest Hills into an elevated park. Several community leaders proposed the idea a few years ago, but the project stalled.

Monday, November 28, 2011

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
And what better thing to kick off the holiday season with than a post about more food? Only this time, instead of turkey, we're talkin' pizza!

.... Gloria's Pizza... I was talking with a friend yesterday who expressed doubts about whether indeed the popular pizza place, Gloria's, which gained quite a following while it was open in Flushing, was actually going to open next to the Midway Theater. After all, the space has remained stubbornly devoid of any construction activity for quite a few weeks.

Monday, November 21, 2011

It was supposed to be a special learning opportunity for the sixth graders at Public School 101 School in the Gardens in Forest Hills, Queens. A popular second-grade teacher was invited to their social studies class to give a lecture about Israel, as part of a unit on the Middle East. ...

This is, quite frankly, amazing! It's still just in the planning stages, but just the fact that it seriously might happen is another reason why I live in New York City. :)

N.Y. / REGIONEnvisioning a Park, With Sights Set Low
By LISA W. FODERARO
Published: November 21, 2011
Plans for a Manhattan green space on a former transit site come with a twist — the park would be underground, in a dank former trolley terminal under Delancey Street.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Well, it looks like the Stadium Arts Alliance's plan to renovate the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, using it for major tennis matches, concerts, art exhibits and ice hockey, is proving the most popular choice as to what to do with the iconic landmark.

Here are the results of our latest poll so far.

Ice skating during the winter and music events during the warm weather - 42

A new Farmer's Market - 30

Tennis again, or other sporting events - 16

Demolish it to make room for new condos - 7

A tennis museum - 5

Other - 3

A hotel - 2

Among the "Other" write-in choices were the rather creative: Bodega, Jail and Helipad. :)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I can't believe I am saying this, but I really am falling in love with a drugstore! Our revamped Duane Reade on 71st/Continental is really such a vast improvement that when I went in to get just a couple of things tonight I found myself meandering around the place, really enjoying the experience! And they aren't even finished yet - they are still expanding their food section. It's a small supermarket in there now.

I also really am impressed with their store brand "deLish" stuff. I impulse-bought a package of dried fruit snacks and they not only taste great, but they are actually all-natural and the perfect healthy snack. Keep it up DR! :)

I had been meaning to post this video I took when I visited the Occupy Wall St. encampment at Zuccotti Park about a month ago. I was watching CNN this morning and during banter between two of the anchors they said the removal of the protestors was done partly because of sanitary reasons: "piles of trash and feces" were in the park. When I visited there was absolutely no sign of either and I can't imagine they would have let that change in a few weeks. Why would they? That would give the City the excuse it was looking for to remove them.

The piles you see in my short video are just belongings. There was no garbage, no foul smells, nothing that would hint of unsanitary conditions.

Whether you agree or disagree with the Occupy Wall Street movement is one thing. But I try very hard with this Blog to at least keep the facts about things straight. Let's make sure we are all in "reality." CNN should do the same if it considers itself to be a major news organization. After all, this is an extremely important fact to get straight. The Right Wingers have tried to paint this protest movement as nothing more than a bunch of radicals and outcasts who do not even know how to clean up for themselves. Sure, some of the movement's members are just that. But many more are productive members of society who are uncomfortable with the fact that the voices of the many are being drowned out in our government by the power of the very few.

I have more video footage I shot that day which I will try to post in the near future, but there's a limit to the file size here, so here you go....